Prefect of the Moscow Central District leads a delegation to Dublin
A delegation from the city of Moscow led by Moscow Central District Prefect A. Alexandrov visited the Church of Sts Peter and Paul serving as the patriarchal church representation in Dublin, on the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of Lent. The delegation came to Ireland for the Festival of Russian Culture organized together by the Dublin and Moscow governments in cooperation of the Russian Embassy in Dublin to give a new impulse to the development of cultural and economic relations between the two cities, as Mr. Alexandrov said.
Present at the thanksgiving celebrated before the Sunday liturgy were Russian Ambassador M. Timoshkin, Prefect A. Alexandrov and Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Emer Costello. The clergy and worshippers lifted up prayers to the Lord for the good initiatives aimed to strengthen relations between the Russian and Irish people.
That same evening, all-Orthodox Vespers was celebrated at Sts Peter and Paul’s with the participation of clergy from the Patriarchates of Romania and Antioch, who served in Ireland. Choristers from the Romanian Parish of the Elevation of the Cross in Dublin sang together with the Sts. Peter and Paul’s parish choir. Among the worshippers were Orthodox believers from the Georgian community. Archpriest Michael Gogoleff, rector of Sts Peter and Paul’s, congratulated the congregation on the Day of the Triumph of Orthodoxy and thanked the concelebrants and lay people for the opportunity for a common prayer. After Vespers, the clergy and laity continued their fellowship at a tea-party.